Operation: Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa
Part of World War II,
Date 22 June 1941 – 5 December 1941 Location Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Western Russia Result Axis conquered vast areas of the Soviet Union and inflicted heavy losses on the Red Army, but failed in its overall strategic goal of defeating the USSR in a Blitzkrieg campaign
Belligerents
Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia Croatia	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Adolf Hitler	Joseph Stalin

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2900 km front. In addition to the large number of troops, it also involved 600,000 motor vehicles and 750,000 horses. Planning for Operation Barbarossa started on 18 December 1940 and was implemented in 22 June 1941. The campaign came to its conclusion on 5 December of the same year, with the German defeat outside Moscow.

Operation Barbarossa's failure led to Adolf Hitler's demands for further operations inside the USSR, all of which eventually failed, such as continuing the Siege of Leningrad, Operation Nordlicht, and Battle of Stalingrad, among other battles on the occupied Soviet territory.

Barbarossa was the largest military operation in human history in both manpower and casualties. Its failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes. Most important, Operation Barbarossa opened up the Eastern Front, to which more forces were committed than in any other theatre of war in world history.

Operation: Barbarossa in Days of Infamy

Operation Barbarossa was reaching its climax outside of Moscow when Japan invaded Hawaii in late 1941. The invasion and Japan's rampage throughout the Pacific Ocean pushed the news of the Germans' defeat off the headlines of newspapers around the United States.

Operation: Barbarossa in In the Presence of Mine Enemies

Operation Barbarossa was successful in defeating the Soviet Union and adding its lands to that of the Greater German Reich during World War II. Memorabilia from the campaign, including the first Panzer IV to enter the Kremlin, was placed on display in the Soldier's Hall in Berlin.

Operation: Barbarossa in Joe Steele

Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941. As US President Joe Steele despised Soviet leader Leon Trotsky, he waited six crucial weeks before shipping guns and trucks for the Red Army. However, the delay nearly proved disastrous as the Germans drove on Moscow and almost captured the city.

Operation: Barbarossa in "The Last Article"

Operation Barbarossa resulted in the defeat of the Soviet Union and the annexation of its territories by Germany. Field Marshal Walther Model had participated in its final battle outside of Moscow.

Operation: Barbarossa in "The Phantom Tolbukhin"

Operation Barbarossa was launched in May 1941, and was a success partly due to the fact that many senior Soviet generals, including Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Koniev, had been killed in Joseph Stalin's purges in the 1930s.

Operation: Barbarossa in Worldwar

Operation Barbarossa was still fresh in the minds of many Germans and Russians when the Race invaded in mid-1942. Many Germans fumed over the defeat while the Russians still remembered it as a sign of German treachery.

As late as 1964, Vyacheslav Molotov, who has been Soviet Foreign Commissar at the time of the initial invasion, still looked back on 22 June 1941 as the worst day of his life.